Sally Baggett
June 1994
ALLEN GINSBERG
It is difficult to read Allen Ginsberg's poem _Howl_ in 1994, without
recognizing the influence it had on a society that was moving towards a
banal and materialistic existence. This poem has made great progress
since its controversial beginnings in the 1950s, and has made its way into
anthologies and classrooms not only in the United States, but all over
the world. _Howl and Other Poems_ has sold 745,000 copies making it one
of the most read poetry books of it's time. (Miles 105)
Allen Ginsberg has become synonomous with the Beat Generation, a group
who coined the term anti-establishment and set the stage for the peace
movement of the 1960s. In 1959 "Life" magazine did an article about the
"Beat Generation" which, as the story goes, made the beats celebrities
by bringing them into the spotlight. Paul O'Neil writes in the article,
"No Beat work has so startled the public or so influenced the Beat mind
as Ginsberg's long poem, _Howl_, an expression of wild personal
dissatisfaction with the world." (O'Neil 119)
_Howl_ broke away not only from poetic literary traditions, but also from
the constraints of the "silent generation." It was as if Ginsberg's
_Howl_ was meant to be heard by everyone,-- including the society that it
criticized. The public was not startled by what Ginsberg was saying in
the poem, as much as by the words that he chose in saying it. The public
obscenity trial pushed _Howl_ into mainstream popular culture, and changed
the way people read and thought about poetry.
Although the media's fascination with _Howl_ made it a success
with the general public, the literary critics were not so taken by it. In
_The Partisan Review_, John Hollander states, in regards to _Howl and
Other Poems_, "It is only fair to Allen Ginsberg...to remark on the
utter lack of decorum of any kind in his dreadful little volume (Miles
161). Many critics felt that breaking away from the traditional forms of
poetry meant that it could not be taken seriously.
It wasn't until the sixties and seventies that _Howl_ broke through the
literary resistance and became viewed as one of the great poems of modern
American poetry. By this time _Howl_ was no longer media hype and
critics decided to look at the special qualities that made it an original
and extraordinary poem. In "How I Hear Howl", George Bowering explicates
the poem, and discusses how the three parts are constructed in such a way
as to revolve around the central unifying theme of the modern day
Moloch. The Moloch represents the modern day monster which is symbolic
of Time. "Section 1 of "Howl" shows portraits of people the poet knows,
caught in the eye of Time" ( Bowering 372) "At the same time the martyrs
demonstrate against the other oppressions, money & academy, prisons where
not criminals but children are locked up, bent, warped, and trained to pass
thru the sacrifice fires of Moloch (373).
Critics like Paul Portuges and John Tytell also made contributions
to the literary study of Allen Ginsberg and _Howl_. Portuges discusses in
his book "visionary poetics" and the impact that Blake's vision has had on
Ginsberg's work. He says, "(Howl) was indeed a surprise to many,
and a threat to many more. Ginsberg had fully realized his quest to get
right into the terror. The individual, victimized by the repression,
fear, and violence that so permeates Western Culture, had surfaced as one
of Ginsberg's major themes."(Portuges 46) This is symbolic of the change
in attitude about _Howl_ in the 1970s. It was no longer perceived as a
"wildly personal disillusionment" but was a very real and truthful vision
of what America had become.
In "Out of the Vietnam Vortex", James Mermann recognizes "Howl" as an
anti-war poem, and states, "It is readily clear that Ginsberg has no
specific war in mind except the inevitable one that must come again and
again to the culture that he describes; and it is clear that he sees the
daily experience of living in that ambiance as a war against the
spirit."(Mersmann 56) Although it is obvious that _Howl_ is dependent on
the zeitgest, it is interesting to see the poem fit in to each decade
over and over again.
The interest and close analysis of _Howl_ seemed to get lost in
the eighties, however, with the emphasis moving toward theoretical
studies. In Marjorie Perloff's book _Poetic Lisence_, she points out
that, "Charles Alteri's Enlarging the Temple, Hugh Kenner's A Homemade
World, and Robert von Hallberg's American Poetry and Culture, have tended
to ignore, if not depreciate, Ginsberg's achievement, partly, perhaps, in
reaction to the journalistic overkill devoted to the Beat Generation."
(Perloff 201) Mark Jarman states in the Hudson Review that (Ginsberg's)
poetry, that is to say, is judged thematically, and since the "themes" are
now passˇ, so is much of Ginsberg's work." (224) But Arthur and Kit Knight
argue that the eighties were a time when people needed to be particularly
retrospective, since, "the complacency and the totalitarian atmosphere
that characterized much of the fifties is again with us." (Knight, cover)
In their book Beat Vision, they discuss the importance of "Beat
Generation" and how it must be given the literary credit that it deserves.
I think one thing that many critics overlook is the humorous aspect of
_Howl_. Ginsberg states, "You're free to say any damn thing you want; but
people are so scared of hearing you say what's unconsciously universal
that it's comical." (Hyde 53) Here is a comical eighties parody of _Howl_
that I think Ginsberg would approve of:
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by stress
frazzled overtired burnt-out
jogging through suburban streets at dawn
as suggested by the late James Fixx,
career minded yupsters burning for an Amstel Light
watching stupid pet tricks,
who upwardly mobile and designer'd and bright-eyed and high
sat up working in the track lit glow of the Tribeca loft
skimming through the Day Timer while padding the expense
account.....
who ate chocolate croissants in outdoor cafes and drank
blush wine on Columbus Avenue washed down with a little
Percodan with dove bars with Diet Coke with Lean Cuisine.
(Perloff 225)
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, Donald. "Improvised Poetics." _Composed on the Tongue._
Bolinas, CA: Grey Fox Press, 1980. 18-62. Interview in which, Allen
Ginsberg discusses the function of stress, syllable, count, breath
units, and stanza forms. He talks specifically about the use of the
long line and how the actual size of the paper that he is working on
determines the length of the line. The line break is also determined
by the "thought breaks" that occur within the poem.
Breslin, Paul. "Allen Ginsberg as Representative Man:
The Road to Naropa." _The Psycho-Political Muse._ Chicago: Chicago UP,
1987. 22-41. Comparison of "Howl"'s title to other titles in popular
poetry of the time, and how this "imperative verb" speaks directly to
the reader in a very active and animalistic way. The first part of
the poem focuses on Ginsberg's "Whitmanian" synactical form, which
is juxtaposed by his visions of an angelic, spiritual world.
Bowering, George. "How I Hear Howl." _On the Poetry of Allen
Ginsberg._ Lewis Hyde ed. Ann Arbor: Michigan UP, 1978. A Description
of how the central image of "Howl" is the "robot skullface of Moloch"
which describes a present day Hebrew monster that is
representitive of the materialistic, industrial modern world.
Ginsberg and the "best minds of my generation" are described as being
the martyrs of this modern monster. Ginsberg also sacrifices himself
in "Howl" to time, loneliness, and lack of communication with
others.
Cassady, Carolyn. _Off the Road: My Years with Cassady, Kerouac, and
Ginsberg._ An insightful perspective on the lives of Cassady, Kerouac
and Ginsberg. It allows the reader to see, not a glamourized Ginsberg
living free and easy, but rather a confused and insecure person who
turned to his close friends for stability and reassurance. It contains
exerts of letters about "Howl" and other poems that he sent to Carolyn and
Neal Cassady.
Challis, Chris. _Quest for Kerouac_. London: Faber, 1984.
An analyizes the form of "Howl" and gives a quote from Jack Kerouac on
the first reading of the poem. An overall assessment of the Beat
Generation and the social impact of the movement. It also discusses
Ginsberg's regard and admiration for Walt Whitman and other
influential poets like Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Melville and
Thomas Wolfe.
Dowden, George. _ A Bibliography of Works by Allen Ginsberg._ San
Francisco: City Lights Books, 1971.
Extensive bibliography that includes translations, speechs and
recordings up to the 1965. It also gives a brief biography on
Ginsberg and describes in detail the publication history of "Howl" and
how the different editions were put together by the publisher.
Ehrlich, J.W. _Howl of the Censor._ San Carlos, CA: Nourse,
1961. Account of the trial that took place in 1957 in which
Ferlingetti, editor of City Lights Books, was being prosecuted for
publishing Ginsberg's "obscene" poem, titled "Howl/For Carl Solomon".
Foster, Edward Halsey. "Ginsberg" _ Understanding the Beats_.
Columbia: South Carolina UP, 1992. 84-127. Discussion of the poets
who have influenced "Howl" and the scholarly and academic reaction to
"Howl" in the nineties. Barry Miles annotated facsimile edition of
"Howl" identifies the poem not with the San Francisco "Beat
Generation" but rather implies that "Howl" is a New York poem that
encapsulates "New York" culture. It allows contains a bibliography
of Ginsberg's work as well as criticism on each work.
Gefin, Laszlo K. "Ellipsis and Riprap: The Ideograms of Ginsberg
and Snyder"._Ideogram, History of a Poetic Method_. Austin: Texas UP,
1982. 117-134. Analysis of elliptical juxtipositions throughout "Howl"
and how they are representitive of modern poetry. Ezra Pound's poetry
was very influential for Ginsberg, and is reflected in the surrealist
images throughout "Howl". He felt, like Kerouac, that spontinaiety and
automatism are ways to unleash the flow of the mind.
Howard, Richard. "Allen Ginsberg". Alone with America. New York:
_Atheneum_, 1980. 177-184. Analysis on Ginsberg's contracting use
of raw, sexual images and spiritual chants and mantras, especially
in relation to the footnotes in "Howl". It gives a complete
explication of the poem and describes the importance of performing
"Howl". The article starts with a story about Ginsberg "disrobing" at
an MLA conference.
Hyde Lewis. "Howl and Other Poems" _On the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg_.
Brief summary of the publication of "Howl and Other Poems." The
emphasis on the humorous, satirical qualities that the poem has and
change that has taken place not only in Ginsberg since the early 60's
but also in the way that society has changed as well. The poem is
analyzed in three parts, the first being a list of atrocities of the
modern world, the second is an accusation, and the third is
addressed directly to Carl Solomon and is a darker version of Donne's
"Seventeenth Meditation".
Knight, Arthur and Kit. "John Tytell talks with Carl Solomon". _ The
Beat Vision_. New York: Paragon, 1987. Discussion of Carl Solomon's
relationship to Allen Ginsberg, and how he felt about personal
instances that came about in "Howl" On a whole, the book is an
attempt to point out the importance of the "Beat Generation" to
modern literature.
Mermann, James F. "Allen Ginsberg: Breaking Out." _ Out of the
Vietnam Vortex: A Study of Poets and Poetry Against the War_.
Lawrence: Kansas UP, 1974. 31-35.
Discussion of "Howl" and its stance against war. It is more than just
a poem, or a part of the literary world, but rather it is a
historical document that records the pressures of society and the
inescapable escelation towards war.
Miles, Barry. _ Allen Ginsberg, Howl: Original Draft Facsimile,
Transcript and Variant Versions_, Fully Annotated by Author, with
Contemporanious Correspondence, Account of First Public Reading, Legal
Skirmishes, Precursor Texts and Bibliography. New York: Harper, 1986.
Collection of poetic reactions to "Howl" from Jack Kerouac, Neal
Cassady, Louis Ginsberg, and William Carlos Williams. It gives a
bibliography of "Howl" including translations and recordings. It
attempts to present "Howl" not as a spontanious burst of thought
but rather a methodical and carefully crafted work.
O'Neil, Paul. "The Only Rebellion Around." _ Life_. Nov. 30 (1959).
Article that made the "Beats" famous. It discusses the relationship
between those people associated with the Beat Generation, and the
effect that they have on society. It gives a brief history of
Ginsberg's childhood and his education. It describes the poem and
the effect that it had on the public since the "Obscenity Trial"
The "Beats" appear to be, carefree rebel rowsers, without much
literary substance.
Perloff, Marjorie. "A Lion in Our Living Room: Reading Allen
Ginsberg in the Eighties." _ Poetic Licence_. Analysis the
treatment of Ginsberg's poetry in the eighties, and how Collected
Poems (1985) places each poem in a linear fashion, creating an
autobiographical summary of Ginsberg's life. The poet uses humor,
drama, and visionary tactics to reveal his personal thoughts and
feelings. But, this kind of confessional poetry has
received much controversy over the years and in the eighties, scholars
criticized "Howl" for lacking in theme and being "over simplified".
Portuges, Paul. _ The Visionary Poetics of Allen Ginsberg_. Santa
Barbara: Ross-Erikson, 1978. Discussion of "Howl" and other poems and
the development of the poetic vision that dominated most of
Ginsberg's work. There are major thesis in "Howl" which reflect
Ginsberg's facination with death, and his use of raw material written
in a natural voice. Many of these themes came from Ginsberg's
visionary experiences which were influenced greatly by William
Blake.
Tytell, John. "Allen Ginsberg." _ Naked Angels_. New York: McGraw,
1976. 79-107. Description of the personal experiences that lead up to,
and eventually became the driving force in "Howl". The essay contains
pertinent exerts of Ginsberg's letters to Jack Kerouac which describe
his sexual frustrations and his love for Neal Cassady that was never
fullfilled. It was one of the first major works
written about the Beat Generation.
Thurley, Geoffrey. "Allen Ginsberg: The Whole Man In." _The American
Moment_. New York: St. Martin, 1978.
A Look at Ginsberg's use of the "one line breath", and the
flexability of tone in Howl. The essay also discusses how "Howl"
broke away from the ironical tradition of earlier poems and presented
a new kind of irony that combined the serious and the satirical
PUBLICATION HISTORY
The first edition of "Howl" was printed in Villiers England and arrived
safely at the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, where it was
published in the Fall of 1956. The second printing, however, was seized
by the collector of customs and the San Francisco police on March 25, 1957
because, the collector stated, "the words and the writing is obscene." The
ACLU defended "City Lights Books in a long public trial, and won the case,
bringing Allen Ginsberg and his poem "Howl" instant fame. The trial
itself was more like a comical courtroom drama, rather than a serious
trial. The Defense brought in poets, professors and artists from around
the area to comment on the importance of Howl, not only in the literary
arena, but for society as a whole. What is so ironic and so important
about this trial is that it gave the "Beat Generation" a chance to
confront the very core of the "oppressed" society that Ginsberg "howls"
about in the poem. The trial only made Ginsberg's words all the more
lucid-- and convincing. Lawerence Ferlingetti, owner of City Lights and
publisher of "Howl" stated in the "San Francisco Chronicle", "It would
have taken years for the critics to accomplish what the good collector did
in a day." (Miles 169) Now fifty-one editions later, with over 745,000
copies sold, "Howl" has become one of the most significant poems in modern
American poetry, and has been reprinted in Ginsberg's Collected Poems, as
well as numerous anthologies. It has been translated into Albanian,
Chinese, Czech, Dansih, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew,
Hugarian, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Macedonia, Norwegian, Polish,
Portuguese, Rumanian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish.
Howl Editions
Howl for Carl Solomon. San Francisco: Ditto mimeograph, May 16, 1956
(25-50 copies).
Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Lights Books, November 1, 1956.
Reprinted 33 times; unexpurgated edition beginning with the 8th printing.
Howl for Carl Solomon. San Francisco: Grabhorn-Hoyem, 1971 (275 copies).
The Pocket Poet Series, Vol. 1. Millwood, N.Y.: Kraus Reprint Co.. 1973
Moloch. Lincoln, Mass.: Penmean Press, 1978 (300 copies).
Collected Poems: (1947-1980). New York: Harper and Row, 1985
Howl. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.
Collected Poems: (1947-1980). New York: Harper and Row, 1987.
Collected Poems: (1947-1980). New York: Harper and Row, 1988.
Howl Translations
"Howl" has been translated into the following languages: Albanian, Chinese
Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hugarian
Italian, Japansese, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese,
Rumanian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish.
Recordings
San Francisco Poets. New York: Evergreen Records, 1958. LP no. EVR-1, 331/2 rpm,
12" mono.
San Francisco Poets. New York: Jampver Records. 1959. LP no. M-5001, 331/2 rpm,
12" mono. Matrix: HMG 117.
Allen Ginsberg Reads Howl and Other Poems. Berkley Cal.: Fantasy
Records, 1959. LP no. 7013, 331/2 rpm, 12" mono. Matrix:
V-5998-1854/1855.
Howl and Other Poems. Wupperta;, West Germany: S Press Tapes, 1981.
1 cassette.
CURRENT EDITIONS IN PRINT
Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Lights Books, November 1, 1956.
Reprinted 33 times; unexpurgated edition beginning with the 8th
printing. Presents "Howl" in a volume with other poems that he wrote in
1955. Includes, "A Supermarket in California", "America", and
"Sunflower Sutra". For teaching purposes this edition is the cheapest
for students, and it also includes his other poems,
which put it in a historical context. (745,000 copies sold)
Howl. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.
Contains the original manuscript as well as illustrations, exerts
from letters, a bibliography, legal history, and significant poets who
influenced Ginsberg. Although interesting and informative, I would not
use this for a class because it takes away from the poem itself. I
would possibly bring in my own copy.
Collected Poems: (1947-1980). New York: Harper and Row, 1988.
This is like an autobiography of Ginsberg's life. Howl is the
first in the volume and which suggests the poems importance not
only for Ginsberg, but also gives a kind of introduction to
Ginsberg's work.
The Pocket Poets Series, No. 4 (San Fran: City Lights Books, October
1956). Intro William Carlos Williams: "Howl for Carl Solomon."
Uncredited title p. quotation ("Unscrew the locks from the doors!/
Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!") from Walt Whitman's "Song
of Myself". Contains poems 1955-56, and four earlier poems, 1952-1954.
The first and second editions (c.1500 and c.3000 copies) were letterpress
printings done, and "saddle stitched" (stapled) at Villiers Publications
Ltd., England; all subsequent editions were offset-printed in the United
States from plates photographed